Hightower: NAFTA Job Losses

There it is again...Hear it? It's that "Giant Sucking Sound" from Mexico.  Remember how the Big Media, the White House, the Republican leaders in Congress, the Wall Street Elite, and all the other card-carrying members of America's establishment heaped ridicule on those of us who warned that NAFTA -- their North American Free Trade Agreement -- would hurt American working families?  "Oh posh and tish," they said, "Why, NAFTAÕs going to create at least 100,000 new American jobs in its first year alone." ItÕs now a year-and-a-half since NAFTA passed. Guess how many jobs weÕve netted from it? If you guessed zero...youÕre wrong. ItÕs minus zero. By WashingtonÕs own, official count, 60,000 U.S. jobs have gone. And thatÕs only the tip of the iceberg, since most job losses to Mexico arenÕt reported. Want some bitter irony? In August '93, Lawrence Bossidy, chief honcho of AlliedSignal corporation, was head cheerleader of Wall StreetÕs push to pass NAFTA. On CNN, he was asked straight out, "Do you think jobs will move to Mexico, would your company put jobs in Mexico?" Bossidy answered, "Quite the contrary, the jobs that were to move to Mexico have already moved there." Oh? That would be news to the AlliedSignal employees in Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, who've since lost their jobs as a direct result of NAFTA, giving Bossidy the dubious distinction of being the number one shipper-outer of U.S. jobs under his NAFTA trade scam. Indeed, AlliedSignal is now the 12th largest employer in Mexico, paying workers about 80 cents an hour. Sure, Bossidy lied, but hey...it pays well. For all of his fibbing and firing, Bossidy personally was paid $12.4 million last year.  IÕm reminded of Lily TomlinÕs observation, "Even if you win the rat race, youÕre still a rat".